Thread package



N A Y an C J THREAD PACKAGE Filed April 10, 1953 Fig. 8.

H ll-{verw Ton Uoseph Cryun m MJKM Patented Sept. 25, 1934 UNITED STATESPATENT; OFFICE 1,974,862 THREAD PACKAGE Joseph Cryan, Newtonville, Mass.

Application April 10, 1933, Serial No. 665,256 4 Claims. (01. 296-64)This invention relates to improvements in thread packages as anfarticleof manufacture, and the principal object of the invention is to providea thread package comprising a container 5 having therein a tube of shoethread or the like which may be employed to protect the thread frominjury during storage or shipment and which will permit the pulling offof the thread from the tube during use without removal of the tube fromthe casing.

The invention is particularly adapted for use in connection with heavythreads, such as shoe threads, which are employed in machines forstitching soles to the uppers or to the welts of shoes, etc.

It is well known that if thread becomes too dry its tensile strength ismaterially reduced. Such drying of the thread often occurs where thethread tubes are kept in proximity to steam pipes, radiators, etc., orin heated storage compartments, and one of the objects of the inventionis to provide a package in which evaporation of the moisture content ofthe thread will be minimized.

Another object of the invention is to provide a thread package in whichthe thread is protected from grease and dirt which frequently is appliedduring the handling of the thread by the greasy hands of an operator, orby the spilling or splashing of oil upon the thread from the machine inwhich it is used. 1

In shoe sewing operations the thread is usually waxed by being ledthrough a waxing device located between the thread tube and the stitchforming mechanism of the machine. If the thread upon the tube becomesoily it will not absorb the wax properly, thereby interfering with thetensile strength of the thread which is increased by the application ofthe wax. By reason of the present invention the normal. tensile strengthof the thread is effectively maintained since it is protected both fromoverdrying and from becoming oily and dirty.

A further object of the invention is to provide a thread package of thecharacter above described in which the thread is led from the center ofthe tube through a central aperture in the cover of the package oversuitable guides to the sewing mechanism. Preferably, the aperture is inthe form of a slit in the cover. which is of a somewhat resilientmaterial, the lips of the slit exerting a uniform tension upon thethread sufiicient to prevent kinking of the thread and to insure itsproper delivery to the sewing mechanism.

Another object of the invention is to provide a thread package of thecharacter above described with suitable window openings, preferablycovered by a transparent lining of the container through which depletionof the thread from the tube may be observed.

Another object of the invention is to provide a thread package which canbe properly supported upon the usual stand or spindle of a sewingmachine, and which will protect the tube of thread from oil and dirtwhile on the machine.

These and other objects and features of the invention will more fullyappear from the following description and the accompanying drawing andWill be particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred form of thread packageembodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of a thread package in whichthethread from the tube is led from the center of the tube through acentral slit in the cover; and,

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of a thread package containing atube of thread from which the thread is led from the periphery of thetube and illustrating the thread package as supported upon the spindleof a sewing machine, the top of the cover having been removed.

The preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2comprises a cylindrical container 1, preferably of fibrous material such7 as cardboard, having therein a tube 2 of thread of a diametersubstantially equal to that' of the chamber of the container. Desirablythe container is provided with a waterproofed inner face or lining 3which desirably is of cellophane, celluloid, or other transparentmaterial. The container is provided with a cover 4 having a cylindricalflange 5 which fits tightly upon the upper end of the container and maybe permanently secured thereto in any suitable manner as by .theapplication of a label 6 secured to the body and flange of the cover.

The container is provided with one or preferably a plurality of windowopenings which extend through the fibrous portion of the wall of the container, but not through the transparent lining thereof.

The cover of the container illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 is provided withfour radial window openings 7 spaced at equal distances apart. It willbe understood, however, that any number of such window openings may beprovided. The cover is also provided with a central opening, preferablyin the form of a slit 8 formed by inserting a thin blade through thecover and its lining at an inclination to the planes thereof, and thethread end 9 is led through the slit. The resiliency of the material ofthe cover is such that it causes the walls of the slit to exert a slightpressure upon the thread, thereby producing suiiicient tension toprevent ballooning of the thread within the container and resultingkinking thereof. The smooth edges of the slit in the lining when of celluloid, cellophane, or like material, serves to reenforce the walls ofthe slit in the fibrous material and acts to reduce the wearing of thewalls of the slit by the running thread to a material degree.

Thread packages of this character are usually supported in a suitablesocket in a stand 10 upon the sewing machine in which the thread isbeing used. In order, however, that the thread package may be used uponmachines which are provided with a spindle for supporting the threadtube, the bottom of the fibrous wall of the container may be providedwith a suitable circular opening 11 through which the spindle may beinserted, or a weakened circular linemay be scored or punched centrallyin the bottom fibrous body of the container which will permit the areaenclosed within the circular area to be readily punched out when thepackage is applied to a spindle. De'sirably the lining 3 covers theopening 11 thereby hermetically closing the base of the container whennot in use, and acts to prevent the evaporation of moisture from thethread.

Desirably means are provided for anchoring the end of the threadextending from the periphery of the tube to the casing to prevent thethread from being drawn through the machine when the tube is completelyexhausted. This desirably is accomplished by providing a slit 12extending obliquely downwardly from the upper .end of the tube to apoint just'below the lower edge of the flange 5 of the cover, so thatthe end of the thread extending from the periphery may be drawn inthrough the slot and provided with a knot 13 outside of the tube andanchored against withdrawal when the cap is applied. This knot may beconcealed by the covering or label 6 which is applied after the cap isassembled upon the container.

The construction illustrated in Fig. 3 shows a cylindrical container 14.preferably of cardboard or other fibrous material, which desirably isprovided with a waterproof lining 15 of the character above described.The base of this container has a central circular opening 16 throughwhich a spindle 17, mounted upon the arm of the sewing machine 18.extends. The thread tube in this construction comprises a cylindricalcore 19 upon which the thread is wound and to which the inner end of thethread is secured. The thread end 20 is delivered from the periphery ofthe spool to the guiding mechanism of the sewing machine after the cover21 has been removed.

In this construction the lining l5 desirably is of waterprooftransparent material and extends over the aperture 16 in the fibrousbase of the container, thereby protecting the thread during storage andshipment, but permitting the thread package to be readily applied to thespindle by cutting out or puncturing the lining when placed upon thespindle.

In this construction one or more window openings 22, extendinglongitudinally of the fibrous wall of the container, may be employed topermit observation of the depletion of thread from the outside of thetube. A similar window 22 may also be formed in the fibrous wa l of thecontainer illustrated in Fig. 1, thereby enabling the preferredconstruction shown in Fig. l to be employed with either a thread tubefrom which the thread end is to be led from the interior, or a threadtube from which the thread is to be delivered from the peripherythereof.

It will be understood that the embodiments of the invention shown andspecifically described herein are of an illustrative character and thatchanges in form, construction and arrangement of parts may be madewithin the spirit and scope of the following claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent, is:

parent lining of water-repellent material with a central slit throughwhich the thread may be led extending at an angle through said cover andits lining at an angle to the planes thereof, with the walls of saidslit and its lining frictionally engaging said thread and exerting aslight tension thereon, and window apertures in said cover providingmeans for observing the depletion of the thread from said tube throughthe transparent lining of said cover.

2. As an article of manufacture, a thread package comprising acylindrical container of fibrous material having a lining of transparentwater proof material, a tube of shoe thread or the like in saidcontainer of substantially the diameter of the chamber of saidcontainer, the base of said container having a central circular aperturethrough the fibrous wall covered by the lining of said container, and anaperture in another fibrous wall of said container permittingobservation through the transparent lining of the depletion of threadfrom said tube.

3. As an article of manufacture, a thread package comprising acylindrical container having therein a tube of shoe thread or the likeof substantially thediameter of the chamber of the container with theouter end of the thread extending through the wall of said container, acover for said container having a central opening through which thethread is unwound from the center of said tube, and means permanentlysecuring said cover to said container and also anchoring the end of thethread extending from the periphery of the tube to the casing therebyacting to arrest withdrawal of the thread upon complete depletion of thetube and to prevent drawing of the terminal thread end through thestitch forming mechanism of the machine to which the thread is suppliedfrom the thread package.

4. As an article of manufacture, a thread pack age comprising acylindrical container having a closed bottom and an open upper end, alining of waterproofed sheet material for said container, a slit in saidcontainer and lining extending downwardly a short distance at aninclination to the plane of said upper end, a tube of shoe thread or thelike within said container of substantialy the diameter of the chamberof said container with the outer end of the thread inserted through saidslit and knotted outside of said container, a cover of resilientmaterial having a lining of sheet material and a flange enclosing theopen end of said container and covering said slit acting to prevent thewithdrawal of the thread end therethrough, said cover being providedwith a central slit through which the thread may be led through saidcover and lining at an angle to the planes thereof with the walls ofsaid slit frictionally engaging said thread and exerting a light tensionthereon.

JOSEPH CRYAN.

